19:44A-19.1 Candidates for elective public office, solicitations on government property; prohibited, certain circumstances.

1. a. For the purposes of this section, the terms "contribution", "candidate", "candidate committee", and "joint candidates committee", shall have the meanings prescribed for those terms by section 3 of P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-3); and the term "property" means buildings used for the discharge of official government functions, business, duties, or purposes.

b. (1) No candidate for any elective public office, or any holder of that elective public office, or the candidate's agent or representative, while located on any property exclusively owned or leased by the State, or any agency of the State, or by any county, municipality, board of education of a school district, fire district, authority, or other State or local entity, district or instrumentality shall, directly or indirectly, solicit any contribution to or on behalf of any candidate for elective public office, or the candidate committee or joint candidates committee of any such candidate.

The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any casual or inadvertent communication otherwise made in connection with, but without intent to solicit, such a contribution.

(2) No person, while located on any property exclusively owned or leased by the State, or any agency of the State, or by any county, municipality, board of education of a school district, fire district, authority, or other State or local entity, district or instrumentality shall, directly or indirectly, make any contribution to or on behalf of any candidate for elective public office, or the candidate committee or joint candidates committee of any such candidate.

c. Any candidate for elective public office, or any holder of that elective public office, or their agent or representative, or any person, who is determined by the Election Law Enforcement Commission to have violated this act shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $5,000 for each violation. Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section may be recovered by a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

d. In the event property exclusively owned or leased by the State, or any agency of the State, or by any county, municipality, board of education of a school district, fire district, authority, or other State or local entity, district or instrumentality or part thereof, is made available, through rent, reservation or otherwise, for the exclusive use of any group for a non-governmental purpose as a meeting location, the prohibition in subsection b. of this section shall not apply and the solicitation or making of contributions or funds of any nature from any or among or by the members of the group during the time the group is using the property made available as a meeting location is permitted.

e. The Election Law Enforcement Commission shall have the jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this section for violations thereof on property exclusively owned or leased by the State, or any agency of the State, or by any county, municipality, board of education of a school district, fire district, authority, or other State or local entity, district or instrumentality.

L.2004, c.21, s.1; amended 2009, c.66, s.14; 2011, c.204.